Keeping It Real Food

Weekend Musings

Jess — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 18:16:18 +0000

It’s a gorgeous day in New York. Hell, it’s been a gorgeous weekend! Yesterday, I spent the afternoon with my mom, doing yoga, getting our nails done, and hitting up the Amish Market on Ninth Ave. We also had lunch at one of the many Hells Kitchen restaurants—Renaissance Diner. I enjoyed a salad of greens, portobello, roasted red pepper, mozzarella and shrimp. It was so nice to relax and enjoy the day rather than stressing about work. I felt like a completely different person!

I can’t say I’ve been any more productive today. I slept in (until 8 a.m.!) and hung around with Chris until taking a long, long walk to run some errands and soak up some sunshine. Perhaps I’ll do the laundry today?

While at CVS, I decided to get something to drink (remember that whole cutting back on diet coke thing? yeah, not happening yet), but I was a bit put off by the candy bars attached to the doors. I’m just not okay with that. What a way to literally shove junk food in customers’ faces! It’s, like, “Congratulations on avoiding the candy aisle. We just have one more test for you, sucker!” Ugh. It just seems mean to do that to people. See the kind of competition dietitians are up against?!

Well, that’s my mini-rant for the weekend. I’m off to check in with my to-do list.

Filed under: Uncategorized

Food Picker

Jess — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 18:32:58 +0000

Among other recent projects, I am now a Nutrition Editor at http://FOODPICKER.org – a website designed
to help people with diabetes.

Stay tuned for more.

Also, feel free to visit All Access Internships, where I currently write the Daily Plate blog.

Filed under: Uncategorized

Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein Recall

Jess — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:18:00 +0000

In recent food-recall news, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, a flavoring agent used in foods ranging from soups to hot dogs, is being recalled after a batch produced by Basic Food Flavors of Las Vegas tested positive for Salmonella.

Though the risk of infection is considered low (cooking is supposedly affective enough to kill the contaminants in this case), Salmonella can still cause serious illness in children, the elderly, and those with compromised immune systems. Better safe than sorry. The recall includes products manufactured since September 17, 2009.

For some more info, here’s an article that was in today’s Times.

For a list of recalled foods, visit the FDA‘s website.

Filed under: FDA, ingredients, recall, vegetarianism

Caravan of Dreams

Jess — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 18:06:00 +0000

Last night, I sat down for dinner at Caravan of Dreams, a vegan restaurant in the East Village with a group of other NYC bloggers. Megan of Runners Kitchen organized the outing, and it was so nice to meet Katherine, Lindsey, Liz, Irina, and Jacqui.

It was a treat to spend a night out talking shop with a bunch of ladies with similar interests!

My photos turned out pretty awful, so check out Megan’s blog for some quality photo documentation.

As a teaser, here’s a pic of the tasty salad that came with my ginger stir-fry entree. This place is a must-try for vegans and non-vegans alike. I can’t wait to go back!

Filed under: New York, other blogs, restaurants, vegetarianism

National Nutrition Month

Jess — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 13:05:00 +0000

As you may or may not know, March is National Nutrition Month. Created by the American Dietetic Association, this annual education and information campaign is designed to shed some light on making informed food choices and developing good eating and physical activity habits as well as recognizing the committed dietitians who work hard to help people lead balanced, healthy lives.

This year’s theme is “Nutrition from the Ground Up.” Take it as a reminder to start with the basics. Talk with a dietitian, take advantage of fitness and health opportunities in your community, stock the kitchen with healthy staples like whole grains and fresh produce. Little tweaks and shifts in attitude can lead to bigger changes.

This month, I intend to focus on treating my body less like a robot and more like a living, breathing being—mine. That involves saying no to things I don’t need to take on and leaving enough time to rest and de-stress so I don’t have to rely so much on caffeine (sorry, diet coke) to keep me going.

So whether you decide to take up yoga or running or to start bringing your own lunch to work or cutting back on meat, enjoy the investment you make in yourself this month!

For more info, visit the National Nutrition Month at ADA’s website.

Filed under: ADA, nutrition

Delhi Heights

Jess — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 19:44:00 +0000

For some reason, it’s hard to get good Indian food in Manhattan, so Chris and I finally got around to heeding the advice of those in the know and headed out to Jackson Heights for lunch today.

We went to Delhi Heights on 74th Street, where we had ourselves a delicious meal of chili paneer, daal tadka, raita, rice, and naan. At the end of the meal, we ordered masala tea, which is brewed right in the milk. We could also have opted for the $9.95 buffet, so perhaps we’ll have to go back another time.

Despite eating until we were a little more than satisfied, we still had quite a lot of leftovers to take home. Even better. But man, I’m glad I went to the gym this morning! It’s not so much that the food there is “heavy” or the portions are oversized—it’s just so good it’s hard not to eat more than you need to!

Filed under: New York, restaurants

Vitamin B-12 Deficiency

Jess — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 02:20:00 +0000

Vitamin deficiencies are something few of us have to deal with. Following a typical western diet allows a healthy person to more than meet their basic nutritional needs, provided they make sure to include enough fruits and vegetables. However, people with certain allergies, intolerances, or other conditions may experience vitamin or mineral deficiencies as a result of their illness.

I spent a little time this evening reading up on vitamin B-12 deficiency after a friend said his doctors suggested it as a potential cause for symptoms that could be related to his recently-diagnosed celiac disease. One of the main deficiencies seen in people with gluten intolerance or sensitivity is B-12, often due to associated malabsorption issues.

B-12 is found mostly in animal products, such as meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, milk, cheese, and eggs. A lot of cereals are fortified with it, and you often see it added to soy milk and “fake meat” products. So while it’s slightly more difficult for a vegetarian to meet their B-12 needs, it’s by no means impossible.

Symptoms of B-12 deficiency include:

Anemia

Nerve Damage

Paralysis

Supplements may be needed for a period of time to correct the problem. It’s just another reminder to bring up concerns with your doctor and not to overlook the diet.

I had a professor who once said that the only disease a vitamin can cure is a deficiency of that vitamin, and while most of us don’t have to worry about that, some people do. A lot of people pop multivitamins like candy even when they don’t need them, but supplements were created for a reason.

Filed under: celiac disease, gluten-free, vitamin B12, vitamins

Alex’s Chili

Jess — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:53:00 +0000

It would have been nice if my school had cancelled classes before I woke up for lab, but oh well. At least now I can get some backlogged work done and maybe take a nap later. This week has been a little too busy, and I used up all my cooking-as-procrastination points yesterday, so I have no excuse not to cross a few things off the to-do list. Oh well, at least I have some kick-ass chili and cornbread to look forward to.

After receiving an email from my friend Alex about this amazing-sounding chili the other night, I just had to try making some myself. It sounded much livelier than the sweet potato and black bean chili I’d been planning on making. Unfortunately, my beloved sketchy markets were out of a lot of things, so I had to make a few adjustments.

Alex’s recipe:

First I braised a lb of chicken and set that aside and put in 2 3/4 cups of onions with chili powder, garlic and then added a red and yellow pepper, a full jalapeno, and then tomatoes, blackstrap molasses, tyme, basil, cumin, chicken stock, masa harina, and then garbanzo, adzuki, black and kidney beans… it was good with or without the chicken. Very satisfying. I placed it over brown rice and a small amount of jalapeno cheese.

My make-do interpretation:

¼ cup olive oil

1 large onion

4 cloves garlic

2 jalepeno peppers

1 red pepper and 1 orange pepper

1 can each black beans, kidney beans, pink beans (low sodium)

1 32-oz can crushed tomatoes

2 tbsp blackstrap molasses

¾ boullion cube dissolved in ¾ cup boiling water

1 cup leftover tomato sauce

a few sprigs of thyme

cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper to taste

Directions:

Chop the onion, garlic and peppers (including jalepeno) either by hand or in a food processor. Sautee for a few minutes.

Add the beans, tomatoes, boullion, crushed tomato, tomato sauce, molasses, and spices. Bring to a boil and then turn heat down and cover.

Simmer for an hour or so.

Chris got in on the act and whipped up some cornbread, which we threw in the bowl and poured the chili over. There was also some cheddar cheese involved. It was the perfect thing on a miserable day…

Filed under: chili, Chris, cooking, recipe

Meatless Mondays to Come to New York City Schools?

Jess — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 02:05:00 +0000

This week, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer released a report titled “A Blueprint for a Sustainable Food System,” in which he proposed several health-promoting measures for New York City schools. As ways of addressing the fact that one in five NYC kindergarten children is obese, Stringer suggested the following measures:

Require Food Curriculum in Public Schools
Expose City Students to Farms and Gardens
Institute Meatless Mondays in City Schools

For more info, check out NYU’s Wagner Food Policy Alliance blog.

There have been both positive and negative responses to the “Meatless Mondays” proposal, in particular. I, for one, am in favor of it—as long as the food being served includes real vegetables and whole grains rather than just pizza, french fries, and ketchup. For example, vegan chili is incredibly easy to make in large quantities for cheap and is packed with nutrients.

One of the main concerns of people unfamiliar with vegetarian eating is protein. Nine times out of ten, the first question is, “WHAT ABOUT PROTEIN?” Contrary to popular belief, once you know what to do (key word: nutrition education), it’s incredibly easy. And anyway, as a country, Americans get much more protein than we technically need. One meal without animal protein is not going to cause your kids to shrivel up and die.

Filed under: children, New York, school, vegetarianism

Wal-Mart holding its own against Whole Foods?

Jess — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 21:01:00 +0000

While it’s hardly news that Wal-Mart has become a huge purchaser of organic milk and dairy products, few people think of the superstore giant as a place to buy organic and local produce. In this Atlantic Monthly article, Corby Kummer takes a look and conducts a few blind taste tests.

His overall takeaway?

IN AN IDEAL WORLD, people would buy their food directly from the people who grew or caught it, or grow and catch it themselves. But most people can’t do that. If there were a Walmart closer to where I live, I would probably shop there.

Most important, the vast majority of Walmarts carry a large range of affordable fresh fruits and vegetables. And Walmarts serve many “food deserts,” in large cities and rural areas—ironically including farm areas. I’m not sure I’m convinced that the world’s largest retailer is set on rebuilding local economies it had a hand in destroying, if not literally, then in effect. But I’m convinced that if it wants to, a ruthlessly well-run mechanism can bring fruits and vegetables back to land where they once flourished, and deliver them to the people who need them most.

Filed under: local food, organic, shopping, wal-mart